Chapter Fourteen:
Not-So Bombad Theed Bombing
The planet of Naboo.
Usually, it was a peaceful world, where humans and Gunguns co-existed, despite the Trade Federation blockade and invasion from years prior. But, within the decade after the Clone War, the system was occupied once more, by the military legions of the Galactic Empire like with every other planet in the galaxy.
He roamed the streets of Theed, alone, with nobody making eye contact with him. Jar-Jar recalled the first Empire Day, when Palpatine declared himself Emperor, and when a new era of "peace" began for the galaxy.
Merely a few years before, as the Clone Wars loomed, the Gungun didn't think granting Palpatine emergency powers would land himself in the situation he faced. But within days of the Empire's rise, shortly after the funeral of the late Senator Amidala, Jar-Jar was faced with scorn by his people.
During the first year of Imperial rule, weeks into his exile, Jar-Jar watched as Clones patrolled the streets. And now, he was watching as Imperial stormtroopers marched around Theed, bearing little resemblance to their lab-created predecessors who'd fought the droid armies.
"Hey, what's your identification?"
Jar-Jar noticed the Imperial zone he'd entered, and one of the Stormtroopers was staring at him with a firm grip on his blaster.
"Mesa Jar-Jar Binks..." Jar-Jar said innocently, "Former Naboo senate representative."
"My apologies..." The stormtrooper nodded, "You were about to enter a restricted area. Pay a little more attention to your surroundings next time, okay? We don't mean to trouble you, sir."
Jar-Jar turned around, and walked towards a street that was under less Imperial jurisdiction. A few kids waved to the Gungun, but a couple, full-grown Naboo citizens just scoffed at him, disinterested in interacting with Jar-Jar. He locked eyes with another Gungun, who just shrugged and turned away, but not before giving Jar-Jar an apologetic smile.
Unbeknownst to the citizens, and the many stormtroopers stationed in the city, a dark figure observed the Imperial-occupied Theed from the shadows of an alley. Maul had come to Naboo, and he was ready to strike at the Empire again.
In the days since he took down the Inquisitor, since he regrouped with Qi'ra after the death of Dryden Vos, the Zabrak had plotted to interfere with the Imperial occupation of Naboo, his former master's home planet and the place where Maul had lost everything to the Jedi scum all those years ago.
Maul's eyes glinted beneath the shadow of his hood, and he held up the remote, which was the key to his plan. With a gloved finger, he tapped a button.
Undetected by Imperial sensors, a signal echoed across Theed, and mouse droids, armed and programmed by Crimson Dawn, began weaving their way into several key Imperial zones with some entering the Theed palace. Reprogrammed Imperial probes floated in, accompanied by a variant of the DRK-1 Dark Eye probe Maul had employed years ago.
Neither of the Imperial troopers batted an eye as the droids entered their zones, and the guards within the palace didn't notice. Maul slinked away through the darkness, observing a holographic display of what was unfolding.
Doors rolled open near the Theed Palace hanger area as the droids roamed onward, and soon, the Mouse Droids and their probe allies had infiltrated the Theed Power Generator, the very place where Maul had fallen to the blade of Obi-Wan Kenobi many years prior. And unlike that day, the area was under Imperial guard.
As a mouse droid rolled into position, it relayed a discreet signal to Maul, who'd made his way out of the city undetected by Stormtroopers, and the former Sith Lord grinned maliciously.
"Detonate..." He hissed.
His command was acknowledged, and the droids were ready to do as they'd been programmed. The mouse droids and the probes beeped, and the bombs were armed. A few troopers heard the odd sound, and studied the droids with confusion, wondering what was even happening.
Moments later, the explosives ignited, and blasters went off. In the Theed generator, energy conductors were ruptured, and platforms crumbled into the pits below. Lights around the city flickered off, and stormtroopers scattered as they were caught in the blasts. Chaos engulfed the city plaza, and the palace, and Maul relished with satisfaction...